Speculation is rife over the Arsenal captain’s future and former teammate Jack Wilshere has urged Arsenal to quickly seal a new contract for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The striker was in imperious form and netted twice against Chelsea to secure the Gunners the FA Cup on Saturday and the performance has further served to escalate speculation about Aubameyang’s future and staus quo with the club.
Aubameyang will be out of contract next summer with no shortage of clubs eager to get their hands on him, and the pressure is now bearing heavy on the Gunners to either agree a new deal for him or sell him to avoid losing a valuable player for free.
Former Gunners midfielder Wilshere knows from personal first-hand experience how good Aubameyang is and has emphasized how vital it is for the talented forward to remain at the Emirates.
He told talkSPORT:
“It’s massive for the club that they get him to stay. You can see what he brings.
“I was there when he signed and straight away from the first training session, you knew that he was world class. He scores goals with his left and right foot, he can beat a man.
“I was lucky enough to play with a few players like that, but he was one of the best. If I was in his shoes? Arsenal’s a massive club.
“He’s the captain, the fans love him, he’s got the respect of the whole club.
“If I was him I’d stay, but it’s easy for me to say that. Listen, as I said, it’s important they keep him because he’s their go-to man, he’s their best player, he’s their leader.
“When the team is down, everyone looks to him to do something and he’s come up with the goods.”
Wilshere, playing now for West Ham, reasoned that Saturday’s FA Cup win and the management of Mikel Arteta could well sway Aubameyang to agree to a new contract.
He said: “To win the first trophy will change a few things in his head.
“Since Arteta’s come in, he had a job of turning the players’ heads and making them think they can win trophies. Arsenal is a club that should be winning trophies.
“As you get that first one, it just makes it a bit real and you think they can do it in the future. It will definitely help.”